“I was very nervous. All I thought was that as long as I could do better than last year’s SU7, it would be fine.”
On the evening of June 26, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun was interviewed after the press conference and talked about the pre-order data of Xiaomi YU7, the company's first SUV. "I am very excited to get so many orders, which is far more than I imagined before."
During the on-site interview, Lei Jun kept a close eye on the phone. When he found that the number of orders kept rising and quickly exceeded 10,000, he exclaimed "Oh my God". Lei Jun said that he must improve the product quality and speed up delivery.
On the same day, the Xiaomi YU7, which had left much suspense, officially announced its price: starting at 253,500 yuan. According to Xiaomi, the number of orders within 3 minutes (paying a deposit of 5,000 yuan, which will be automatically locked and non-refundable after 7 days) exceeded 200,000 units, and the number of orders within one hour exceeded 289,000 units. Lei Jun said at the press conference that "it took the team only 5 minutes to reach a consensus on pricing."
The first batch of sales data of YU7 is far more amazing than that of Xiaomi's first car SU7. On the night of the release of SU7, Xiaomi Auto's official Weibo said, "The large-scale pre-order exceeded 10,000 in 4 minutes. The large-scale pre-order exceeded 20,000 in 7 minutes."
"YU7 is Xiaomi's first SUV and also Xiaomi's first real entry into the automotive industry. We will face the strongest competitors and the most brutal competition, but I am still very confident. Because I believe in the product strength of YU7. YU7 is not a mediocre, ordinary SUV, but a very unique SUV."
The outside world is very worried that the release of YU7 will affect the price of the previously released SU7. In response, Lei Jun said: "SU7 and YU7 have their own fixed audience groups, but we are still worried internally. We are worried that the release of YU7 may affect the new orders of SU7. At the beginning, we expected about 10,000 new orders per month, but we didn't expect that the new orders of SU7 have been increasing. We have raised the expectation for SU7 three times. At present, it is 13,000-14,000 new orders per month. Although YU7 is very popular, SU7 will not be bad either. I am still very confident in SU7."
According to the Xiaomi Auto APP, in addition to the first YU7 Max current version, the first batch of deliveries for other orders will start in August.
Talking about the self-developed SoC chip Xuanjie O1 released earlier, Lei Jun said that he had not expected it to do so well. According to him, the second-generation Xuanjie chip will be considered for use in cars in the future, and preparations are currently being made for Xiaomi's self-developed chips to be installed in cars.
In addition, Lei Jun also responded to the "OEM" issue that has caused widespread concern among the outside world. Lei Jun said that no matter in terms of quality, manufacturing capabilities or management, after all, he has been working in the manufacturing industry for so many years, and everyone has misunderstandings about OEM. Most of Xiaomi's equipment is self-developed. Without some foundation, it is difficult to do a good job in manufacturing.
In terms of specific selling prices, the standard version of YU7 is priced at 253,500 yuan, the Pro version is priced at 279,900 yuan, and the Max version is priced at 329,900 yuan. Compared with netizens' previous expectations, they are not considered to be "breaking the bottom price", but they are still quite popular in terms of cost-effectiveness.
"The launch of YU7 was also at the invitation of Tesla," Lei Jun said. "It doesn't matter if we can't compete. Tesla dared to issue a challenge, so we dare to compete. Xiaomi is a company that never admits defeat."
During the on-site launch, Lei Jun focused on comparing the differences between YU7 and Tesla's flagship SUV Model Y. Lei Jun said that the configuration of the YU7 standard version is equivalent to the Max and Ultra versions of the Model Y, with an ultra-long range of 835 kilometers and a large 96.3 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. The range is 242 kilometers longer than that of the Model Y, and the battery cost is also much higher than that of the Model Y.
Lei Jun said that although the configuration of Xiaomi YU7 exceeds that of Tesla, the price of the standard version has been reduced by 10,000 yuan year-on-year (the standard version of Model Y is priced at 263,500 yuan).
"YU7 is designed for those who cannot tolerate mediocrity and are always ahead of the times; it is also designed for those who shoulder responsibilities and still have distant goals in their hearts; it is designed for those who still have the stars and the sea in their hearts amid the mundane life of firewood, rice, oil and salt." Lei Jun said frankly.
According to Lei Jun, YU7 is positioned as a "luxury high-performance SUV" and has launched three different versions. The standard version has a range of 835 kilometers, ranking first among all medium and large pure electric SUVs and also first among all four-wheel drive pure electric SUVs. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 3.23 seconds, the comprehensive power reaches 508kW (691 horsepower), and the maximum speed can reach 253km/h.
At the press conference, Lei Jun also officially announced a series of new products in the Xiaomi family, including Xiaomi Tablet 7S Pro 12.5, Xiaomi 15 Ultra limited customized color, Xiaomi 15 Ultra fashion imaging set, REDMI K80 Extreme Edition, REDMI K Pad, Xiaomi Watch S4 41mm, Xiaomi Mi Band 10, Xiaomi Open Headphones Pro, Mi High-Speed Hair Dryer Pro, Mi Robot Vacuum Mop M40 S, etc.
In addition to Xiaomi Automobile, the most anticipated new product is "for the next generation of smart devices" - Xiaomi's first AI glasses released today, available in monochrome and color electrochromic versions.
Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi AI glasses have a portable AI entrance, equipped with a 12-megapixel high-definition lens, can take immersive photos and record videos, support third-party APP video calls, live broadcasts, and real-time sharing, and are priced from 1,999 yuan.
